There's nothing quite like Patriots week at The Mane!

[PatsWin2002]

There's nothing quite like Patriots week at The Mane!
The tension...the anticipation....the rivalry.......

OK, maybe not.

Funny how I haven't posted much this week yet our teams will collide on Monday night. I did, however, successfully get SoCal to display an avatar. :hooray:

There's a lot of articles in the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald about this game. Obviously, the Pats have great respect for the Broncos as well as our coaches for each other.

Just an idea of what the sentiment is here.......

Broncos a pain in neck despite all the injuries

http://www.boston.com/sports/footbal..._the_injuries/

You see a defense starting rookie Jashon Sykes at strongside linebacker and cornerbacks named Lenny Walls and Kelly Herndon, and you figure Brady should have no problem lighting up the Colorado sky, right?

Yeah, right.

"They plug linebackers in there and they still lead the league in defense," Belichick said. "They don't have any problem with that. [Their] two corners, I'm sure a lot of people couldn't even name who they are. They're playing good on pass defense. They're leading the league on third down. So don't tell me about their corners. They're just the best in the league, that's all."

Belichick has expressed his respect for Broncos coach Mike Shanahan before, but yesterday spoke as if his admiration had grown, having observed Shanahan maintain consistency amid turnover.

"The key to it is Mike Shanahan," Belichick said. "When you talk about offense in the NFL, nobody has done more than he has on a consistent basis year after year. It doesn't matter who the back is, it doesn't matter who the line is, it doesn't matter who the quarterback is, they move the ball and they score points. They produce in the red area, they're good on third down, and he's done a great job year after year after year with whoever the players are . . . They've had to shuffle the deck before."

Said safety Rodney Harrison, who made annual trips to Denver as a member of AFC West rival San Diego and nearly became a Bronco last offseason because of Shanahan, "You can't go against Mike Shanahan's system thinking that because they don't have their starting quarterback or their first-string quarterback that he's off. He's going to put Kanell in position to where he has easier reads, he can just play football, and he's comfortable. We're not going in there underestimating this group at all. This is one of the most talented groups we've gone against.

"This is our sternest test to date."